Nums: Do big companies or small companies create more jobs?”

Bit of a trick question since the constant refrain is that small companies are the ones that generate job growth.

According to a Business Week analysis of ADP National Employment data …

Since the U.S. economic recovery began in june 2009, big employers have increased employment 7.5%, while small employers have boosted payrolls only 4.9%.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, was on the McCain team in 2008 but has changed sides and now regularly advocates for the Administration of TV.

He says: that there are three explanations for why large employers (1,000 employees and up) grew faster than small ones (fewer than 50 workers).

Many hard hit construction companies are small and aren’t hiring – they are struggling to stay afloat.

The credit crunch hit small companies hardest … they’re only now able to get loans.

Big companies are more internationally focused and have been able to capitalize on the decline of the dollar

Note: not a whisper about ObamaCare.

Curious since CNBC is coincidentally running pieces about how ObamaCare is stifling hiring.

Many folks think that the ObamaCare mandate that companies provide healthcare insurance or pay a fine only applies to companies with 50 or more full-time employees who work 30 hours or more per week. The so-called 50-30 rule.

So, there is widespread conjecture that small companies would simply cap their full-time payroll at 50 employees and then add part-timers to meet their needs … avoiding the clutches of ObamaCare.

Turns out that the law is based on full-time equivalents … not full-time employees.

Part-timers count as fractional full-time employees depending on the number of hours worked.

It’s called the “aggregation rule”.

So, for example, a company would be pushed into ObamaCare territory if it had, say, 30 full-time employees and 41 part-timers working 20 hours per week.

According to CNBC, many small employers have just found out what’s in the bill and have put the brakes on hiring – either full-timers or part-timers.